Amazon Needed Consumers’ Consent Before Connecting Sidewalk Network, Class Action Claims

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A proposed class action in Washington contends that the "Sidewalk" network built into Amazon’s Ring doorbells and Echo smart speakers essentially steals consumers’ paid-for internet bandwidth without consent. 

The Miami-Dade County, Florida husband and wife behind the 17-page lawsuit allege Sidewalk, which enables certain devices to connect to other Echoes and Rings nearby via Bluetooth, is no more than an attempt by Amazon to build an “unprecedented wireless network” for which consumers will “foot the bill.” According to the case, Sidewalk is a means for Amazon to bypass the expense of creating such an expansive network, one in which connected Echo and Ring devices form an enmeshed, “shared” network with long-range connectivity, by tapping into consumers’ private internet connections and using a portion of their bandwidth to maintain the link between Sidewalk-enabled devices. 

Amazon activated Sidewalk on June 8, 2021, and thereby connected all Sidewalk devices automatically by default, without first seeking consumers’ consent to share their internet bandwidth, according to the case. 

“The [plaintiffs] pay Comcast for personal Internet bandwidth on a monthly basis,” the complaint reads. “The [plaintiffs] did not consent to share their personal Internet bandwidth for the Sidewalk network.” 

Amazon touts its Sidewalk network as designed to help devices work better at no charge to customers, per the suit. More specifically, Sidewalk works by “sharing a little bit of your internet bandwidth with your neighbors” by combining it with bandwidth from other neighbors to create a “low-bandwidth, low-power network” that can be used by others to “help one another in new ways,” according to the complaint. The plaintiffs contend, however, that the sharing of bandwidth between neighbors does not amount to a donation. 

“Rather, it is automatically taken from Amazon device-owners who own Amazon Sidewalk Devices as opposed to be volunteered for access and sharing,” the case scolds.

According to the case, Amazon currently uses up to 500 megabytes of bandwidth through each Sidewalk-enabled device, and this internet traffic counts toward proposed class members’ maximum data usage from their service providers, which creates the potential for overage charges. The case adds that the maximum amount of bandwidth Sidewalk devices use might increase over time. 

The Amazon devices equipped with Sidewalk include, according to the lawsuit: 

• Ring Floodlight Cam (2019) 
• Ring Spotlight Cam Wired (2019) 
• Ring Spotlight Cam Mount (2019) 
• Echo (3rd Gen and newer) 
• Echo Dot (3rd Gen and newer) for Kids 
• Echo Dot with Clock (3rd Gen and newer) 
• Echo Plus (All generations) 
• Echo Show (2nd Gen and newer) 
• Echo Spot
• Echo Studio
• Echo Input; and 
• Echo Flex.  

The way to stop Amazon’s “unfair use” of consumers’ internet bandwidth is to find instructions for disabling Sidewalk on their Ring and Echo devices, the lawsuit states. Those who do not opt out of Sidewalk are not compensated by Amazon for the use of their internet bandwidth, the suit says.

The lawsuit aims to cover all persons in the United States who bought or acquired and use an Amazon Sidewalk device. 

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